Egyptian-French cooperation developing Saqqara site

CAIRO – 15 September- 2017: Ayman El-Ashmawy, the head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, said that the project of protecting, promoting and developing the Saqqara archaeological site is one of the aspects of Egyptian-French cooperation in the field of museums and archaeology, pointing out that the French Development Agency (AFD) has fully financed the project, which cost €500,000 for seven years.

“The aim of the project is to raise the efficiency of the area to attract a larger segment of tourists to visit the archaeological area of Saqqara,” Al-Ashmawy pointed out. He explained that a number of archaeological inspectors in the Ministry of Antiquities were trained in the development and management of archaeological sites to improve the practical level of the archaeologists to best serve the aim of the project.

It is worth mentioning that Minister of Antiquities Khaled Anany will inspect the site on September 16, with the attendance of the French ambassador to Egypt, Stephane Romatet; the director of the French Development Agency (AFD) office in Cairo, Stephanie Lanfranchi; the director of the French Institute for Oriental Archelogy Laurent Bavay; in addition to a number of foreign ambassadors and directors of foreign archaeological institutes in Egypt.